Thought Stew

I like Olivia.

First off, have any of you ever had the opportunity to taste rancid Macaroni and Cheese? Well, I did last night. And let me just assure you, it tastes the way the word "rancid" sounds. Blah. Blah, gag, blech. Or, as GARTH would say, it is Nas-T.

GARTH and I are close, I would just like to put that out there.

Last week, the Double B and I bottled 40 quarts and 60 pints of peaches.
It was a lot of peaches, I'm not gonna lie. And while I find bottling very satisfying, that doesn't mean I like to do it. In fact, I have not home canned for at least two years, 'cause it is just a whole lot of work. And if I am anything, it is lazy. But when we got 200 lbs of peaches for absolutely nothing, I couldn't actually pass it up. It would have been unethical to pass it up.
And yes, the Double B was my canning partner. He is very useful. And I find kitchen usefulness like that downright delectable in my man.
So way to go, Double B.
Did you know bottled food has a fifteen year shelf life? And even then, you could probably eat it. It just starts to really lose it's flavor. And once I saw this movie, 'Holes', and they ate like 100 year old peaches. I don't know if that is the type of thing you would want to do, really. But it was in a movie, so it must be true. 'Holes' is really good, by the way. I like that show, and now that I am thinking of it, may watch it again sometime in the near future.

Last night I went to Zumba, 'cause it was Zumba night. Somewhere near the middle of class we had a little dance-off. And since the 14th ward makes up a good 25% of the class, it was sort of like the Jetts and the Sharks. Of course, I was on Team Jetts. In all reality, it could have just as easily been the Greasers and the Socs. It should have been the Greasers and the Socs! Darn it, man! Next time. Anyhow, back to the dance-off of the Jetts and the Sharks. My two great Zumba partners, Trina (of sister fame) and Shawna (of pre-school fame) were on Team Sharks. It was a vicious dance-off. But all in good will. Because while I may not be able to shimmy as well as the next man, I can pull hideous faces for distraction purposes even better. So I'm pretty sure in the face-pulling category, I WON the dance-off. But for dancing superiority itself, it would have to be the Sharks, led by the indefeatable Melip, Betsy, Trina, and Shawna. To be nice, though, the afore mentioned Trina and Shawna did say my booty was really shaking! I felt good about that, and then explained how that is done. I credit the scientific law of Inertia.

And now, I will briefly summarize the highlights of the GARTH concert for future generations:
* He performed in a tiny little theater. No more then 800 seats, man.
* It was just GARTH and his acoustic guitar, man. Well, until Trisha Yearwood came out for a few songs. But then it was just GARTH and Trisha. Then just GARTH and his guitar again. I had no idea he could play like that.
* Our seats were supposed to be on Row S to the far right. But there was some kind of mistake, and so instead we got Row J front and center! He was literally about twenty feet away from us on eye level and hung out most of the time right in front of us. Sha-Zam.
* Sometimes he'd play right on the edge of the stage with one foot hanging off. I thought he was going to fall off more then once. But he must have experience, or something. And also, an incredible sense of balance.
* His voice is incredible. He sounds exactly like he does on his albums, but better, 'cause he's really there. It is an incredible instrument. He said how lucky he is, because it is completely effortless for him, how it's no more effort to sing then to speak in the big G's world. And you can tell, his voice is so easy and so beautiful. Oh, GARTH. I could just go on all day! His voice was all I had hoped for and more.
* The show was really interesting, he only played about five of his own songs. The rest of the time he told stories and played the songs that influenced him growing up. So that was groovy: Haggert and Jones, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, his hero James Taylor, Gladys Knight, etc. Super interesting. And so funny. We were laughing our heads off the whole night. I do wish he'd do a Garth Night 2, though, were he played just his stuff. We did get to hear 'Rodeo', 'Callin' Baton Rouge' and 'The Thunder Rolls', though. So score!
* Trisha Yearwood is super pretty in real life. Wow. And has a very nice voice. They harmonize most magnificently. And so that was cool. But you know, I'm all about GARTH. So back to him.
* You know how you feel like you really know your favorite celebrities? Like they spend time in your house and you feel like you'd probably be buddies? Listening to him interact with the audience, and hearing all his stories and jokes, we felt like we actually did know him. That who we have loved for so long is the real GARTH. So -- yeah. We're like best friends and all. He did not disappoint.
* The concert was five minutes late because he had literally just landed from attending his daughters soccer game back in Oklahoma. So he was in a sweatshirt, worn out jeans, work boots and an old baseball hat. He made a joke of it all night.
* The Double B and I analyzed the whole way back from Las Vegas about why Garth has been so successful and loved for so long. A) He's the real McCoy. He is that talented. B) Gratitude. He has it. He doesn't take things for granted. He cried at the end when he sang 'The Dance' and said "You know not just the chorus, but the verses, too, and that means so much to me." We've got your back, GARTH. C) Priorities. It seems like he's got his straight.

So yeah, basically, we love Garth. I've seen a lot of great shows, both concerts and plays, but have never had such a euphoric experience before. It was worth every penny. Everyone, go see GARTH!!!

Thank you for listening. I promise not to mention GARTH anymore. Today.

Now that that's done, I will now include a few pictures of Kate for my little (okay, younger) brother Nick and his wife Silvia, who are currently in her homeland of Brazil visiting family.
I knew they'd want an update of Katelyn's increasingly delicious fatness, so I snapped these this morning while she sat on my lap.

No! I don't want my picture taken!

What? For Nick and Sil?

Well... Okay!
Yep. I'm the cutest baby ever!
It's okay... admit it!
The End.